LONDON: Scott Sio only needs to look as far as his name for World Cup quarter-final inspiration.
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But if he needs a little bit of extra help to keep the Wallabies' campaign alive, he can turn to the man who motivated him to chase his rugby dreams. Sio's dad David arrived in London on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning AEDT) in time to watch the Wallabies' last pool game against Wales at Twickenham.
It's perfect timing 24 years after David was on the same stage trying to help Manu Samoa continue their giant-killing World Cup run.
But it's time for Sio revenge and his name could be the secret weapon to boost the Wallabies' chances.
"It's always special when I've got family members supporting me ... I'm sure my dad's going to enjoy it, he'll be going pretty crazy," Sio said.
"He took us to a few games at the 2003 World Cup in Australia, and he had a Samoan reunion at the 2011 World Cup. But this will be the first time he watches me play at a World Cup. His war stories come out every now and then, they seem to pop up every time I meet someone new. They had a good time in the '80s and '90s.
"He got to play in a quarter-final. The biggest thing he said to me is just live in the moment, take in your surroundings and not get bogged down in rugby. Have fun."
The story of Sio's name is well told in rugby circles.
David was part of the 1991 Samoan World Cup team that beat Wales and pushed the Wallabies to almost cause a monumental upset.
Samoa got through to the quarter-finals where they met Scotland. David decided to let the rugby gods decide what his son's name should be. Win and it would be Manu. Lose and it's Scott.
Scotland beat Samoa and, more than two decades later, Sio could find himself lining up against his name-makers.
If the Wallabies beat Wales in their last pool match, they will set up a quarter-final clash against either Scotland or Japan.
And the arrival of his dad in London is perfectly timed to give Sio some home advice before the biggest matches of his young career.
"Dad was supposed to come over last week, but he had some things to do back home in Sydney before getting here," Sio said.
"It's great having him here. He said just don't get lost with where you are and take a chance to take it all in.
"That's what Samoa did [in 1991] – they had fun. That's what he's always said to me, have fun at every level you play at.
"We've got some of that [in the Wallabies] and we've got that strong belief in each other. The vibe has been really great, but we know we have to keep going up a level. It only gets tougher every now and then.
"I hadn't thought about the chance to play Scotland until the other day. It's a bit ironic."
Sio has been doing his part to hold up the Wallabies scrum and turn it from an Achilles heel into a strong set piece for the Australian team to feed off.
But the ACT Brumbies loose-head prop said it was time to write another page of family history, starting with the Wallabies' quarter-final next weekend.
